UK-based Wizenoze makes the final of the Next Billion EdTech Prize in Dubai

London – March 8, 2019 – Wizenoze has been chosen as one of the finalists for the Next Billion EdTech Prize. The UK-based startup will travel to the Global Education & Skills Forum in Dubai to compete in a pitch competition that recognizes leading EdTech startups, who are making an impact on education in low income and emerging economies. This prestigious and globally-recognized award identifies the most innovative technologies that have the potential to radically impact education in these challenging environments.

The 30 worldwide finalists will compete in a pitch contest taking place at the Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) 2019 on 22-24 March in Dubai. The forum brings together over 1,500 global delegates from around the world to solve the most pressing issues in global education, culminating in the award of the Next Billion Edtech Prize and the US $1 million Global Teacher Prize.

The Next Billion Prize was named to remind the world of the billion young people – a number growing every day – that are being denied an education that allows them to make the most of their talents.

Among these billion young people globally, over 115 million are still classified as illiterate (UNICEF 2018). Moreover, even greater numbers have difficulty reading and understanding the online educational content which underpins the increasing majority of global educational delivery. Wizenoze has therefore developed The Web for Classrooms – an internet for education that shows results that match the reading skills of the learners. This AI-based technology enables all learners to discover relevant and reliable educational content on the internet, which has been matched to their reading level. Thus making the Internet inclusive again and enabling every learner to reach their full potential.

Diane Janknegt, Founder of Wizenoze, commented:

“Wizenoze is delighted to have been shortlisted for the Next Billion Edtech Prize. It represents a powerful validation of our mission to address global inequalities in basic literacy and confirms our position as a global impact company.

We are committed to using our technology to give these billion young people in emerging markets access to an internet for education, which they can read and fully understand. Wizenoze will continue working to give all young people globally the right to readable, relevant and reliable web-based educational content. Our aim is to inspire them and to support their achievement of improved learning outcomes.”

Vikas Pota, CEO of Tmrw Digital, which runs the Next Billion Prize, said:

“Congratulations to Wizenoze for making the final 30 startups to compete in the Next Billion Prize 2019.

The Next Billion Prize was created to shine a light on those gifted entrepreneurs that are not only ingenious but also bold and persistent enough to bring forward the revolutionary ideas that are desperately needed to transform education in those parts of the world where there is limited access to high-quality teaching.

Our fervent hope is that the prize inspires this new breed of entrepreneur the world over to come forward with the fresh thinking that is needed to help give every child their birthright; access to a great education.”

The 30 finalists will pitch to an expert panel of judges, made up of venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, educators, and experts in EdTech and learning sciences. They will also pitch to a live audience of GESF delegates made up of leading education figures from public, private and social sectors.

Six of the startups will be selected to return to the main GESF stage for the grand final in front of judges and a live audience. The best three will each be awarded $25,000 and the winner will be awarded the Next Billion Prize trophy.

Notes to editors:

About Wizenoze

Wizenoze gives learners worldwide access to relevant online educational information from reliable websites at their own reading level. It has created the largest curated collection of relevant and reliable online content available in the world today that is suitable for any ‘classroom’ environment. The Web for Classrooms consists of more than 7 million pages and is comprehensively curated and indexed by reading level ability, giving people with lower reading skills access to reliable information on the internet that they understand.